Accountable Care

Over 140 Medicare-certified hospices have been invited to participate in a new five-year model of care that will allow for dual coverage of hospice and curative care.

While a proposed final rule for accountable care organizations taking part in the Medicare Shared Savings Program showed officials may be listening to concerns, many participating healthcare providers many participating providers say it doesn't go far enough.

Once bitter rivals, healthcare providers in same markets are finding it's better to keep their enemies close, sharing services, health plans and purchasing power among them.

A former advisor to President Barack Obama is warning healthcare providers to embrace bundled payments as accountable care organizations fall behind in reaping savings from value-based payment models.

With Aetna's market share set to balloon next year after its takeover of Humana wraps up, the insurer is trying to assuage health systems that might fear greater reimbursement pressure.

Presbyterian Healthcare Services, an integrated delivery system with eight hospitals, 700 physicians, 100-plus clinics and a 300,000-member health plan, will take on care coordination and prevention for more than 12,000 members in UnitedHealthcare's employer-sponsored plans in New Mexico.

"The very advantage of telehealth, its ability to make care convenient, is also potentially its Achilles’ heel."

The best method to attract and keep consumers is to build access to points of care throughout the organization, from a hospital's retail clinic to physician offices, primary care and medical specialists, experts at HFMA 2015 ANI say.

Speakers at the Healthcare Management Association 2015 Annual Institute warn providers to embrace models like capitation, accountable care and bundled payments.

Healthcare Finance will be on the ground at the conference and will file live reports from the sessions.